The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
To facilitate satellite broadcast service for a residential subscriber, a satellite service provider installs one or more “satellite dish” antennas at the subscriber's residence. The satellite dish is positioned to provide an unobstructed line-of-sight (LOS) with the satellite service provider's satellite(s) for signal reception. For rural or suburban single-family residences, the satellite dish will commonly be placed on the roof, attached to an exterior wall with appropriate (e.g., southern) exposure, or mounted on a pole in the yard, as long as line of sight with the satellite is not obstructed by trees, mountains or other structures.
For potential subscribers in more urban, higher-density housing environments, such as “multi-dwelling units” (MDU) in which individual housing units for residents or tenants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex (e.g., apartments, condominiums, office suites, commercial and hotels), the provision of individual satellite dishes to each subscriber may be impractical or even prohibited. Not all residents of multi-dwelling units have an exterior wall or balcony with appropriate exposure, and those that do may be blocked by adjacent structures. Additionally, building codes and community rules (e.g., condominium association rules) may restrict the use of satellite dishes.
To address these issues, satellite service providers may install local content distribution systems within hotels and large multi-dwelling units to service multiple units/subscribers from a single satellite dish resource. Typical installations also include a set top box or a client unit for each television display. The television displays may be located in various locations. However, it may be desirable to pre-wire a multiple-dwelling unit. Typically, a set top box is placed in a customer's existing furniture. However, in a pre-wired installation, furniture does not typically exist for placing a set top box therein. Further, such installations are not secure for retaining the set top box. That is, a customer may easily remove the set top box from the premises.